Hand held digital media devices (DMDs) come in many forms, such as: cellular phones, digital music players, digital video players, AM/FM radios, and so on. Most DMDs are small enough to fit in a pocket, a purse or a briefcase, and many require the user to wear an earphone set or a headset (or similar listening device) for optimal enjoyment. However, these earphone sets (or other listening devices) easily become tangled, damaged, or are lost when transported unprotected, such as when wound around a DMD or carried loose in a pocket or bag. When included, a carrying case supplied with an earphone set is typically either a bulky hard structure or a cloth bag. Bulky earphone storage cases and cloth storage bags are additional items that a user must keep track of. Although cloth bags are not bulky, they do nothing to neatly store and organize the earphone set. As a result, earphone sets/headsets are usually stored separate from the DMD and are thus easily lost, or are wrapped around the DMD and exposed to damage, and further inhibit use of the DMD.
DMD manufacturers (e.g., Apple™, Nokia™, Samsung™, and BlackBerry™) sell many lines of mobile devices such as cell phones, music players, video players, notebook computers, and gaming devices. These manufacturers typically supply earphone sets to compliment the functions of the DMD and may also supply protective covers to protect the devices from damage. Although these manufacturers occasionally market a limited variety of earphone sets and protective cases, most earphone sets and protective cases are manufactured and sold by other companies (i.e., companies other than the manufacturers of the DMDs). For the most part, DMD manufacturers are focused on selling the DMD itself and have done little to help the consumer efficiently manage and transport the DMD and earphone set together.
Protective case manufacturers (e.g., In-Case™, OtterBox™, Speck™,iFrogz™) sell protective cases to cover and protect a DMD, but do not protect or secure the earphone set that is provided with the DMD. Where a case for protecting a mobile device does provide for storing the associated earphone set, these cases are big and bulky and provide only containment without organization of the earphone set sub-components.
DMDs, particularly from different manufacturers, have unique physical characteristics and dimensions and thereby have unique form signatures. Protective cases for these DMDs are therefore designed to fit one particular DMD. For example, a protective case for an Apple iPhone 4s will not fit a Samsung Galaxy S, and vise versa. Thus, it can be said that a protective case is keyed to a particular DMD.
Protective case manufacturers are focused primarily on selling protective cases for DMDs and have done little to help the consumer efficiently manage, control or store earphone sets for transport together with the DMD.
Earphone set manufacturers (e.g., Skull Candy™, Klipsh™, and BOSE™) sell earphone sets that work with many different DMDs. DMD users may choose to purchase a third-party earphone set because they offer higher fidelity, better fit or better aesthetics. Regardless of the source of the earphone set, most end up stuffed in pockets or are wrapped around the DMD, and are often forgotten, misplaced or damaged.
Manufacturers of earphone sets are focused primarily on selling the earphone sets and have done little to help the consumer efficiently manage, control or store the earphone sets for transport together with the DMD.